Rivals
by Melodious Lion
Summary: Everyone knew Marth and Ike hated each other. Everyone that is, except Pit. Contains LinkxPitness


**Disclaimer:** I don't own SSBB or any of the characters, blah blah blah. All owned by Nintendo.

**A/N:** Er... The reason why Ike and Marth hate each other is a bit strange, in my opinion. I couldn't think of anything else. So don't kill me. D: But please tell me what you think! It's my first fanfic; I'd like to know what I could improve on. ^^ Also, this story contains some LinkxPitness. It's not really part of the plot. It's more like comic relief. I suppose.

* * *

They weren't friends.

But they were enemies.

They weren't teammates.

But they were roommates.

Everyone knew that. Every time Marth and Ike were in the same room together with anyone else, all conversations would drop to a low whisper. They constantly glared at each other, silently wishing the other would drop dead. Of course, they were quiet about it. They weren't violent, nor did they talk to each other at all. Still, you could feel their hatred emanating from both of them. No one knew what caused the two blue-haired swordsmen to despise the other so much.

Everyone knew Marth and Ike hated each other.

Everyone that is, except Pit.

* * *

On a bright, sunny, and very early morning, an angel named Pit stepped outside the Smash Manor to admire the sky, hoping Palutena was okay without him. It was his first day as a smasher, but he was still slightly worried. He stretched his arms up, yawning, while his fragile wings followed the motion. The angel rubbed his eyes to wake himself up a little, and lied down on the warm grass.

Whenever he woke up, the first thing he always did was admire the sky, even if it was raining. If there was one thing Pit loved the most, it was the sky. And his favorite part was flying through it. He loved to feel the wind whispering in his ear, and lightly flowing through his clothes. The puffy clouds he'd soar through were icy, but that encouraged Pit to continue.

On earth, Pit decided not to use his wings as much, so he adapted to cloud-watching. The angel even enjoyed spotting different shapes that they formed. Sometimes they'd appear as animals, and sometimes they'd reflect emotions.

So today, as Pit observed the first puffy cloud he saw, he frowned. It appeared in the form of the devil, which made the archer shiver.

_I think it's time for breakfast now… _the angel contemplated, standing up.

He walked back inside the Smash Manor, taking in the beautiful artwork displayed on the walls and hanging from the ceiling. There was a symbol for every person in the Smash Manor. Even Master Hand and Crazy Hand had one. Although, they weren't very creative... Both of them were only hands. Crazy Hand's seemed like it twitched a little, but the other symbols were way more intricate, in Pit's opinion.

Take his favorite, for example. That one was displayed at the top of the main staircase that led to the maze of halls for the smashers' rooms. It had the triforce on it, with each triangle representing the different colors of power, wisdom, and courage. On top of the gleaming triforce was the outline of a hero's bow and arrow stretched out diagonally, as if it were aiming toward the ceiling. Inscribed under the picture was the name of whom the symbol belonged to. Their name was Link, which was written in cursive. Pit smiled. Although he hadn't met this Link, Pit felt that he'd be a sweet person.

He walked into the kitchen, noticing several other smashers awake and about. There was lively chatter among them, and the atmosphere held a relaxing feeling. The angel was surprised to see this many people because he had woken up pretty early. He didn't think anyone else would be awake.

He prepared himself some cereal and sat down at the table between a blonde man and a blue-haired mercenary, by the looks of it. Pit felt uncomfortable; he didn't know the two people sitting next to him. He only knew a few people, for he met some when Master Hand was giving the new smashers a tour of the mansion. He especially became good friends with an Altean prince named Marth. Other than that, he received a couple of stares, most likely for having wings. Pit felt a little self-conscious at that time, but he shrugged it off after a while. _I guess it's their first time seeing an angel_, he had thought.

As he continued reminiscing, he reached for the milk on the table. The blonde man on his left reached for it at the same time, unaware of Pit's hand. Both of them felt a spark of electricity at the tip of their fingers when they met. They immediately pulled back, looking at each other for the first time. Pit blushed unknowingly.

"Hi there. I'm Link," the blonde said, smiling and reaching to shake Pit's hand.

"H-Hi. My name is Pit," the angel stuttered, taking Link's hand. _So _this_ is Link…?_

Link took his hand away, while Pit reluctantly let go. "So, you're one of the newcomers?"

Pit nodded. "Uh-huh."

"That's cool. You see that other guy on your right?" Link whispered, leaning in a little. "That's Ike. He's a newcomer here as well."

Pit glanced at the mercenary, who was eating a chicken leg. He had light-blue spiky hair that was slightly mussed. He looked like he just rolled out of bed.

"Oh." Pit looked back at Link, who was tapping his lips with a finger. Pit tilted his head inquiringly.

"He's also known to hate this one guy named Marth. He's been here almost as long as I have. But for some reason, he has a bitter rivalry with Ike…" the hero said, still tapping his lips and studying Ike.

"Marth? I know him. Altean prince, blue-haired swordsman?" Pit asked, and Link nodded in response. "He's my friend. We met during the tour of Smash Manor."

"Oh, really? Usually newcomers only come to the tour. I'm not sure why Marth would come…" Link pondered.

Pit shrugged. "Maybe he was checking out the competition," he suggested.

"I gue—Hi Marth!" Link said, looking at the door.

"Hello, Link and Pit," the regal swordsman said, walking over to them swiftly.

The angel could swear he saw Marth glare at Ike. Pit glanced at the mercenary, and found that he mirrored Marth's glare. So the rumor was true, then…

The angel looked at Marth and smiled. "Good morning, Marth."

"Good morning. So, are you enjoying Smash Manor, Pit?" Marth asked, pulling up a chair and sitting on Link's left.

"I really like it here. I'm eager to see the rest of the mansion," the angel answered, grinning.

Link chuckled. "Well, don't stay up too late. Battles begin tomorrow."

"Right. You'll need to be ready, and… '_prepare yourself_'," the prince mocked. Ike shot a glare in his direction and stood up to leave. Marth smirked.

Both archers gave Marth a quizzical look, unaware of Ike. A tall figure caught both of their eyes at the doorway, and they realized it immediately.

"…Marth… Why do you hate Ike?" Pit asked, sincerely confused.

The prince was taken aback. "What? I do not _hate_ him."

"So those glares are ways of showing affection?" Link asked, grinning.

Marth stood up. "I don't know what you're talking about. We just don't get along very well."

Link stood up as well, placing a hand on the prince's shoulder. "It's okay. The first phase is always denial."

Marth removed the archer's hand, annoyed. "The day I fall in love with… _that swordsman_, is the day you overcome your little obsession."

"Obsession?" Pit interrupted.

Marth smirked. "Yup. He's _completely_ obsessed with-" he said, as Link clapped his hand over Marth's mouth.

"Nothing!" the hero smiled nervously.

The Altean removed Link's hand again, picking up where he left off, "…cheeseburgers."

With that, he strolled out of the kitchen.

* * *

Marth rubbed his temples.

"Annoyed?" a voice asked from the opposite wall of the kitchen's doorway.

"What do _you_ think, Oh Clever Mercenary?" the prince sneered.

Ike walked over to him, taking his hand. "I think… You really _do_ like me, Marth! Oh, how could this be?" he said melodramatically.

Marth pulled his hand away. "In your dreams," he scoffed.

"Maybe, maybe," he said, earning a disgusted look from Marth. "I'm kidding. I like someone else back home, anyway."

The Altean rubbed his forehead, walking towards the main staircase. "You mean the mage? Soren, I think?"

"How did you know that?"

Marth turned around to face Ike. "I call it… reading your letters… _pookey-bear_," he teased.

The Crimean stiffened. "You've been reading my letters?!" he yelled. _AND you know what Soren's nickname for me is?_ he added mentally.

"Yup! Can't wait to read the next one!" the prince said, turning around once more and dashing up the stairs and through the halls. "You need to find better hiding places!"

* * *

Pit covered his mouth to keep from snickering.

Link scratched his head awkwardly, staring at the floor. "…Yeah… I can't help it… I know you think it's weird."

The angel smiled; he was definitely right about Link. "No, I think it's interesting."

"Really?" he said, brightening.

"Of course."

"Excellent!" the hero said, resuming his seat next to Pit.

He got a little carried away and started talking about the history of cheeseburgers and what types of cheeses he loved. Not that Pit complained. The angel just sat there, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, admiring how adorable Link could be when he rambled.

"Swiss, cheddar, mozzarella, string, brie, ricotta, provolone, cream cheese, feta, gouda… But those are just some of my favorites. I like pretty much all of them- Uh, Pit?" he paused, staring at the angel.

The angel had zoned out, a dreamy smile frozen on his mouth.

"Pit?" Link waved his hand in front of the archer, looking for a response. He poked Pit's knee. "Pit~?"

Immediately, the angel jumped, turning red, and his hand flew over to where Link had poked him. "S-Sorry! What happened?"

The hero raised an eyebrow, the ghost of a smirk appearing on his lips. "I think you were lost in a fantasy."

Pit blushed, turning his head so Link couldn't see his face. _Oh, you have_ no_ idea, Link…_

Link merely laughed and ruffled Pit's hair. "Well, I'm off. Time to go train. Unless you wanna come?"

Pit shook his head, still blushing. "That's okay… I'll just explore the mansion a bit."

"Okay. Have fun!" Link said. He gave Pit a quick smile and left the kitchen.

The angel smiled back, lost in yet another sweet fantasy.

* * *

**The next chapter's a side chapter, by the way...**


End file.
